Readers help find homemade chicken-fried steak in Las Vegas

Jim Migliore is looking for a restaurant that serves chicken-fried steak that’s breaded in-house. Some readers who replied to his query said they weren’t sure of the provenance of the ones they were recommending, but they all gave them high praise.

Ann Brown recommended Lakes Lounge at 2920 W. Lake East Drive, and said it is house-made. Jesse Carrizales said the same about the dish served at Fire Rock Steakhouse at 5990 N. Centennial Blvd. Patty Romeo, who says she had a Southern grandmother, vouched for the one served at Vickie’s Diner in the old White Cross Drug Store at 1700 Las Vegas Blvd. South, and at The Harvest Cafe at 4835 W. Craig Road. Dwayne Dawson recommended Lou’s Diner at 431 S. Decatur Blvd., and Myke King of Boulder City recommended the Iron Rail Cafe at Railroad Pass Casino.

For Anita Kramer, Brown said Concord Foods Apple Crisp Mix is available at Smith’s at 10100 W. Tropicana Ave., and Debra Anderson, who said she brings it from Connecticut, recommended Amazon.com.

More reader requests

Mike Faulkner is looking for Kikkoman brand tempura batter in a 3-pound bag, which he used to get at Costco, and Bookbinder’s Cocktail Sauce, which he used to get at Sam’s Club.

Bruce Baird is looking for supermarkets that sell gazpacho.

Tom Fitzgerald is looking for a coffee shop on the east side of the valley that offers The Wall Street Journal for reading.

And Rose Rinehart asks her fellow readers for recommendations for good delis in the Henderson area, aside from Weiss Restaurant Deli Bakery.

July 30, 2019

After the huge response to the request for the seasoned cottage cheese recipe served at Alpine Village Inn, which closed more than 20 years ago, I said I’d run the equally popular Chicken Supreme Soup recipe. I didn’t have to look it up — Marilyn Basinger sent a copy of one the Review-Journal printed in April 1997:

Boil 2 quarts water, 2 teaspoons celery salt, 2 teaspoons Accent, 1 pound cooked ground chicken, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet, 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon and 2 to 3 ground carrots for 30 minutes. In a separate pan, heat 1/2 cup oil until smoking; add 1 cup flour and stir with a whisk until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add to soup and use whisk to blend. Add yellow food coloring, if desired.

More on the cottage cheese recipe: Greg Hammet emailed to point out that the ingredients list on his vintage container of the seasoning differs from the recipe we ran; my advice is to take all “authentic” recipes with a grain of salt because they can lose something in the translation.

And Matt Becker of Becker Gaming emailed to say Charlie’s Down Under, 1950 N. Buffalo Drive, serves the chicken soup on the last Thursday of the month, adding, “We have customers bringing in cast-iron bowls that it was originally served in.”

More reader requests

Shannon Irving is looking for Cacique Cilantro Lime sour cream, which she bought somewhere in Las Vegas, but can’t remember where.

Erica Thomas is looking for Open Pit Barbecue Sauce, which she used to get at Winco.

Tootsie Popowcer is looking for a restaurant that will prepare a hamburger medium-rare, adding that she’s frequently promised, but ends up sending them back.

July 23, 2019

I always knew readers were fond of the old Alpine Village Inn, which closed more than 20 years ago. But I learned just how much they missed the place after Loretta Eichelberger requested the recipe for its seasoned cottage cheese dip and I, who had misplaced it, turned to all of you.

We received responses from Bob Fisher, Dottie Shull-Krob, Peggy Carson, Belinda King, Jane Forbes, Holly Macdonald, Karen Kissam, Phyllis Hendrickson, Nancy Caudill, Patti Gray, Bari Hankins, Kolene Copas, Ann Brown, Marilyn Roth, Tara Klimek, Donna Hall, Nancy Ozun, Jane Lewis, Elsie Goldsworthy, Bill Davis, Merri Davenport and Mary Ann Bianco.

Here’s the recipe: Mix 2 pounds small-curd cottage cheese with 1/2 teaspoon caraway, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon Accent, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, 1 tablespoon dried chives and 1/2 teaspoon celery salt. Chill at least several hours or overnight. Serve as a condiment or dip.

Paul Harbaugh sent an alternative recipe: Mix Smith’s Ranch Dressing mix with cottage cheese to taste and spread on Triscuits. “Add some cherry tomatoes for a treat.”

And Ozun asked me to publish the Alpine Village chicken-soup recipe. Look for that in an upcoming column.

More reader requests

Joel Lengyel is looking for a local source for Trappey’s Mexi-Pep Hot Sauce salsa picante.

Pat Nation is looking for grape leaves in jars.

George Swede, assisting a neighbor, is looking for B&G hot cherry peppers.

And Charles Butler is looking for split-top hot-dog buns, other than the King’s Hawaiian brand, which are too sweet.

July 16, 2019

Rhubarb may be all over the place — sometimes literally — in some parts of the country, but it’s a rare and wonderful thing in Southern Nevada, especially since the frozen version has all but disappeared from supermarkets. But readers found it for Barbara Wagner.

Helga Smith (who emailed, “There are not many things more refreshing on a hot summer day than homemade rhubarb compote, served chilled/iced.”) has found it at Vons at 2667 E. Windmill Parkway in Henderson, and she and Eileen Hug found it at Smith’s at 2385 E. Windmill Lane — both sporadically, Smith said. Penny Reese reported finding it at Albertsons at 5975 W. Tropicana Ave. Nancy A. Nolette said it’s available at Winco at 80 N. Stephanie St. in Henderson; there’s another Winco at 6101 N. Decatur Blvd. I’ve found it at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and some Smith’s stores. And Ann Brown has found the frozen version at Sprouts, though she said it’s “hit and miss.”

More on ribs: For readers looking for Tony Roma’s ribs, Joe Kennedy recommended the “excellent” ribs at Trader Joe’s.

More reader requests

Anita Kramer is looking for Concord Foods’ Apple Crisp mix, which she found at Smith’s.

David D. Werner is looking for Eckrich Cotto Salami.

Mike Miller is looking for a clam dip similar to Reser’s, which he used to get in Oregon.

And here’s a blast from the past: For years I kept the recipes from the old Alpine Village Inn on file, but as the number of queries dropped, I lost track of them. Loretta Eichelberger, who said she has the chicken soup recipe, wonders if any readers have the recipe for the gone-but-not-forgotten restaurant’s cottage cheese dip.

Readers?

Send requests to Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474 (put “Food Finders” in the subject line). Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.